Sermon Notes: Mark 5:1-20
Mark 5:1-20
Remember Mark’s Overall Big Idea: Jesus is the divine Son of God and the suffering servant Messiah who inaugurates the kingdom of God, who atones for sin through his death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus calls his people to a costly discipleship of self-denial and suffering with purpose and joy.
We see the Son of God in our text today advancing the kingdom of God he has inaugurated with deep intention in a deliverance of a son of Adam from the clutches of evil forces.
Author: John Mark
Audience: Gentiles who are being told the good news of the kingdom of Jesus.
Followers of Jesus who are growing up into maturity in Christ and learning how to live under the rule of his increasing kingdom on earth as in heaven.
Occasion: Mark, as Peter’s missionary helper, is writing a gospel “tract” for use on the field as they preach the good news to Gentiles.
Genre: Overall, historical biography.
We have evidence, and our faith rests on empirical reality.
NOTE: Pursue facts, truth, voraciously. There is nothing we have to hide from.
Key words and phrases:
Came to the other side (T) paired with Gerasenes - Gentile territory, (Isaiah 65) (T).
Immediately (T).
Unclean spirit. Saw Jesus.
Came out of the man.
Legion. Country.
Right mind. Afraid. Go home and proclaim.
NOTE: Demon possessed, possessed (same word “demonized”). Possession is an unfortunate translation of the Greek. Demonized is literally the English transliteration of the Greek word. It means to be terrorized or harassed by demons. That can happen in a host of ways beyond taking up residence. (See 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5). Not all demonic activity is against non-Christians, and not all demonic activity is taking residence. We have to have a whole Bible theology of the war against principalities and forces of evil.
Lists: None
Contrasts and comparisons:
Comparison – The storm on the sea compared to the storm in the man.
Contrast – The man demonized and hurting himself, always active, naked, and unable to be bound contrasted with the man when he is delivered, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind.
Contrast – The people seem to not be afraid of the situation with the demonized man to the point they attempt to shackle him contrasted with their fear when they see him delivered.
Contrast – The demon’s response of running to Jesus to beg for mercy with the people’s fear and begging Jesus to leave their country.
Expressions of time:
V. 6 “When” – Upon seeing Jesus, the man/demons in the man come and fall before Jesus so that Jesus speaks to the man/demons. They demons did not respond until their creator’s presence forced them into an action toward healing.
In other word, the demons respond when Jesus and his authority was present.
NOTE: We are working to let the present text speak. We should begin to have questions. Mark will address some of these questions as we move through his account of Jesus’ work.
Jesus will give this authority to his people when he sends them out so they can do what he just did (Mark 6). Jesus’ name and authority are powerful.
Evil only responds when Jesus dictates that they respond by his powerful name, presence, and authority.
Do we have that?
Terms of conclusion/purpose clauses:
V. 8 “For” – Here, “for” explains why the unclean spirits (demons) were talking through the man, and that is because Jesus was addressing them when they came running to him. So, they had to respond to Jesus.
NOTE: It is interesting these unclean spirits in the man force him to run to Jesus. They don’t run away. But their running to Jesus is to beg Jesus for some kind of mercy. They don’t come to confront him. They don’t have the authority to do that.
V. 13 “So” – Here, “so” indicates the reason Jesus grants permission to the unclean spirits to exit the man and enter the pigs, and that is because they begged Jesus for that sentence rather than to be sent out of the country at the moment.
Why?
What does the text say?
Jesus intentionally leaves his home ministry location where there is initial success for Gentile territory. That is the mission he set out on from Genesis 1. Why would he not?
Jesus is met with two chaotic storms: a storm on the sea and a storm in a man.
Jesus is on a mission to get after his unwavering work of healing the chaos brought about by the prince of the power of the air, the destroyer of men, and preaching the good news of his kingdom.
With his word of decree, Jesus calms the storm on the sea, and he calms the storm in a man that other folks have not been able to calm.
Jesus’ work of mercy and salvation delivers those bound by the prowling forces of evil who seek to devour humans, and his word of decree that sets the demonized man free uncovers the evil in man’s heart as they are more concerned about their income from some pigs than the healing of one of their own people.
Jesus sends the freed man to preach about the good things Jesus has done for him.
Jesus is the powerful Son of God, and those who hear the healed man’s preaching about Jesus marvel at what they hear about Jesus.
What does the text mean?
Remember our themes that will help us interpret. There are two here.
Immediately
“Euthus” means “straight” regarding physical things. “Euthus” is also used for immaterial things, like the heart of a matter, and when applied to things like that it means “right” and “true.” Its synonyms are firm, unwavering, and ready.
The Greek word as Mark uses it is not so much about time.
We hear “immediately” and think being in a hurry.
Jesus was not in a hurry. Mark is telling us that Jesus was walking in the unwavering and always straight way of truth and getting after the work.
Jesus was deliberate about the mission.
Jesus’ way is deliberate, not hurried.
What is interesting in this instance, Mark uses it to describe how, when Jesus arrives, the situation presents itself in line with Jesus’ mission. Mark presents the immediacy of the evil responding to Jesus’ presence.
It’s almost like by Jesus being there, the situation had to line itself up to get on his agenda. I believe this is exactly what is happening. Jesus is on a mission, and when his kingdom advances, all things have to fall in line with his order.
Gentiles
Mark’s emphasis on Jesus working in the north among the Gentiles reminds us of the Lord’s intent to see that all nations have the good news preached among them so that men and women might repent and believe.
Jesus’ work in Israel was not for them to have him to themselves, but to save them and invite them to get on the mission to free those taken captive by the Serpent Dragon to do his will.
Now, let’s get to our observations.
1. Jesus is on a mission to preach the good news of the kingdom to the Gentiles also, so he gets right after healing what the curse of sin has broken, and the unclean spirits have no option but to respond to his presence. V. 1-5
This observation is our themes (Immediately and Gentiles) worked out.
Jesus is on mission. Jesus intends to heal what is broken and preach the good news. Jesus is deliberate about where he is going, and it always produces fruit.
So far, Mark’s theme of “immediately” has been to display the on mission work of the Spirit or the Son of God.
The Son of God is on mission, and the situation lined itself up with the Creator of the universe.
Jesus is there, and these unclean spirits, recognize the Creator of the universe, and they respond to his presence.
Verse 6 is the description of what happened immediately in verse 2. Verse 6 is not later. Verse 6 is the descriptive action of the situation as soon as Jesus steps out of the boat.
Jesus is powerful. By his presence, Creator Jesus causes evil to begin releasing what it has taken.
Jesus gives us a glimpse of what is coming for his disciples when he sends them with his authority in Mark 6.
Application:
Remember, Mark’s gospel account has been a manual for Christians to learn how to imitate Jesus. Note how Jesus does what he does. Do likewise.
Be deliberate in your discipleship like Jesus is deliberate about all things.
Deliberate discipleship puts us in the position the Lord himself modeled for us to take.
Being deliberate about all things kingdom of God sets your direction and vibe, and it will produce fruit. When we imitate Jesus, there is nothing but good for us.
NOTE: Don’t confuse deliberate with joyless.
Enjoy the fruit of deliberate, disciplined, discipleship. Taste it and see that the Lord is good.
2. Jesus takes the initiative to confront evil with his presence and his spoken word. V. 6-10
Again, verse 6 is the description of the conflict Jesus deals with as soon as he steps off the boat in verse 2.
Jesus’ initiative is recorded for us in verse 8.
Jesus does not mess around. Jesus knew what he was dealing with, and he immediately tells the unclean spirit to come out of the man, and then makes it identify itself.
Remember the purpose clause “for”. Legion only speaks through its representative speaker because Jesus commanded it to come out when he gets out of the boat.
Application:
Don’t mess around with evil. Don’t toy with it. Take the authority Jesus has given you over it, as best you can, and rebuke it in Jesus’ name.
Jesus’ model of dealing with unclean spirits is simple: Rebuke them. Make them identify themselves. And as we will see, send them away.
If you don’t believe this is real, you need to get serious about your Bible study.
3. Jesus is authoritative and powerful to deliver the man with the legion of unclean spirits by sending them into a herd of pigs and keeping to the appointed timeline. V. 11-13
Why did Jesus agree to send Legion into the herd of pigs rather than cast them out of the region like they asked? There is some Biblical back story there I’m going to leave you to go mine out of the Old Testament.
Here is a generic and good hint from a fellow SBC scholar:
“Jesus recognized the time of the ultimate vanquishment of the demons had not yet come; his encounter and triumph over the demonic does not yet put an end to Satan’s power. It is the pledge and the symbol of that definitive triumph, but the time when that triumph will be fully realized is deferred...Therefore, Jesus allows the demons to continue their destructive work, but not in this man...Jesus allowed the demons to enter the swine to indicate beyond question that the unclean spirit’s real purpose was the total destruction of their host.”[1]
Two facts:
1. Jesus is working his appointed timeline, and this is not the time for the evil forces to finally be cast into the lake of fire with those who refuse to believe. That day is coming. See Revelation 20 and 21. Jesus is on time and on point.
2. The enemy is not our friend. The enemy is bent on destroying human’s liveS and/or human’s source of income and sustenance.
This is why every time we encounter worldviews and practices of those worldviews that are counter to Jesus’ created nature of things and purpose, we can know for certain we are not merely wrestling against flesh and blood, but we are wrestling against principalities and rulers of wickedness in the heavens.
Application and Gospel Connection:
There is coming a day of judgment where the dead who have not believed will be raised and judged according to their works, which cannot measure up, because that is what they chose. They will be found lacking and cast into the lake of fire prepared for the enemy and these hybrid unclean spirit that are the fruit of the rebellion of Genesis 6 and all the other beings opposed to Jesus (Matthew 25:41).
You don’t have to experience that. Repent and believe the good news today!
Learn to see the forces of evil at work. Take note of what destroys human flourishing. That is your most obvious hint you are dealing with unclean spirits.
4. Jesus’ authority and power to call out and deal with unclean spirits causes fear and rejection for some. V. 14-17
It is absolutely telling that Creator Jesus healing and saving a man’s life would send other humans into a fear response.
How broken is mankind that deliverance from evil forces would cause people to not want anything to do with Jesus.
They reject him and ask Jesus to leave them.
Application:
Don’t be surprised if you are aggressively rejected in the public square if you deal with spiritual forces of evil.
Don’t be surprised if you are passively aggressively rejected as over the top, overly spiritual, and missing the gospel by folks in the church world if you are aware of and deal with force of evil.
5. Jesus sends the healed man to preach about what Jesus has done for him. V. 18-20
This image-bearer is released from the bondage of evil, sitting in peace, and in his right mind.
If you’ve ever dealt with unclean spirits, you know that rush of right, clear mindedness, and order that comes in with the Holy Spirit filling what evil leaves vacant.
Jesus instructs the man to go tell of his marvelous grace.
The man wants to go with Jesus, and that seems reasonable. But Jesus does not let the man go with him. If I’m that man, I want to with Jesus too.
But Jesus sends him home to preach. Jesus sends him on a mission.
Hint: When we get to the end of chapter 7, we see that he has done his job and the people are ready to meet Jesus and receive his work. They know who Jesus is and what he can do because of the man’s preaching, so Jesus is met with folks bringing their friends and family to Jesus for help.
And we never hear this man’s name or hear about him again. He was healed, sent on mission, and obeyed. That’s enough.
He will get a hearty “well done good and faithful servant, enter the joy of your master” on that great day.
Application:
Has Jesus healed you of unbelief? Has Jesus healed you of something else? Has Jesus empowered you to overcome something?
Go tell it! Preach the good news of the kingdom. Invite people to repent and believe.
Heal and preach!
Don’t expect it to become a great ministry. Expect that we all will be like John the Baptist: Jesus increases and we decrease.
Be content to be unknown, faithful, and obedient.
You will hear “well done” one day, and you will grow in faith as you see the Lord honor his word to you.
[1] Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Mark, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 107.